INTERLEUKIN-4 BUT NOT GAMMA-INTERFERON PRODUCTION CORRELATES WITH THE SEVERITY OF MURINE CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS
- Author(s)
- MORRIS, L; TROUTT, AB; MCLEOD, KS; Kelso, A; Handman, E; AEBISCHER, T;
- Details
- Publication Year 1993-08,Volume 61,Issue #8,Page 3459-3465
- Journal Title
- INFECTION AND IMMUNITY
- Publication Type
- Journal Article
- Abstract
- For murine cutaneous leishmaniasis, data to date suggest a correlation between the presence of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) and resistance in C57BL/6 mice and the presence of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and disease in BALB/c mice. In this study, 13 inbred strains of mice covering the range of susceptibility to disease were infected with Leishmania major to determine whether the subsequent expression of IFN-gamma or IL-4 is a reliable indicator of cure or progressive disease. The presence of IL-4 and IFN-gamma mRNAs in the draining lymph nodes was examined 9 weeks after infection, when differences in disease severity became obvious. There were large differences in the levels of IL-4 mRNA among the different strains, whereas IFN-gamma mRNA was detected at similar levels in all strains. The levels of IL-4 mRNA correlated with lesion score, with susceptible and intermediate strains containing up to 100-fold more than any of the resistant strains. Differences in the levels of IFN-gamma mRNA were within only a fourfold range, with significant overlap among susceptible, intermediate, and resistant strains. Similarly, the levels of IFN-gamma secreted in vitro by lymph node cells from infected mice in response to L. major antigens were within a 10-fold range for most strains, and there was no correlation with lesion score. Analysis of Leishmania-specific antibody levels revealed a correlation between immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) titers and lesion score, consistent with the role of IL-4 as a switch factor for IgG1. In contrast, there was no correlation between IgG2a titers and lesion score, supporting the notion that IFN-gamma synthesis (which promotes IgG2a production) is not correlated with disease state. These data suggest that along the spectrum of murine cutaneous leishmaniasis, IL-4 is a reliable indicator of disease, but IFN-gamma is not prognostic for resistance.
- Publisher
- AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY
- Keywords
- STIMULATORY FACTOR-I; T-CELL SUBSETS; MESSENGER-RNA; IFN-GAMMA; VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS; MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY; TROPICA-MAJOR; CD4+ CELLS; NUDE-MICE; TH2 CELLS
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Creation Date: 1993-08-01 12:00:00